Alter Mann auf dem Totenbett 1900

Already as a student Klimt was confronted with portraits of dead. A very common tradition at this time was to commission an artist with a final portrait of the dead family member. It was a little additional income for the students at the Kunstgewerbeschule to execute these paintings. Assumingly the dead man is the father of Emilie Flöge who died on December 28, 1898.